MSP: Gun Purchase Applications Jump In 2012

Sgt. Marc Black, Sr., with MSP, talked with WBAL's Steve Fermier about gun purchase applications in the last year or so Download This File

A lot more people applied for Maryland gun purchases in 2012 than in the year before.

State Police said that there were 46,339 applications for regulated firearms in 2011.

And last year the figure was 69,606.

The difference, 23,267, represents a 50 percent increase.

The process involves a seven-day waiting period, during which time the state police do a background check. There also is a requirement for firearm safety training, according to MSP Sgt. Marc Black, Sr. That training is available online, he said.

Sgt. Black declined to speculate about why the number of purchase applications went up.

There were 4,864 handgun permit applications processed in 2012. That's actually down from 5,216 the year before, Sgt. Black said.

The carry or conceal permit application is much more complicated and involves more checks, according to Sgt. Black.

For one thing, the applicant must carefully justify the reason for having such a weapon, in addition to checks to make sure there were no felony or major misdemeanor convictions, and display no tendency toward violent behavior.

There were "some number" of disapprovals, but those figures were not immediately available, Sgt. Black said.